Guide for hand duplicators



Sept 3, 1935. R H. A ON 2,013,571

GUIDE FOR HAND DUPLICATORS Filed Nov. 4, 1933 2 sheets sheet 1 I I i l I l M w I i 5b is 30 E .5/ l W I. :A: 49 449 t: :8 447 M '51 a 36' 4 4 4 5 I V 5 4 5 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFEQE Multistamp '00., Inc.,

tion of Virginia Norfolk, Va., a corpora- Application November 4, 1933, Serial No. 696,725

13 Claims.

This invention relates to guides for hand duplicators and, among'other objects, aims to provide a guide which is adaptable for use with several sizes of hand duplicators, especially those duplicators which are rocked by hand over the surface of the paper when making an impression.

The invention has numerous specific objects which will be pointed out during the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification:-

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an improved guide made in accordance with the invention, showing in dot and dash lines, the hand duplicator positioned on theguide preparatory to making an impression;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1, showing in dot and dash lines the hand duplicator positioned'on the guide preparatory to making an impression;

Fig. 4 isa fragmentary plan view showing another position of one of the parts of one of the hand duplicator abutment members;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing in dot and dash lines the lower end of a hand duplicator which is guided and centered by one of the adjustable parts of an abutment member;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in sectional elevation showing particularly the adjustable abutment forthepile of'paper; and

Fig. '7 is a section on the line 'l'! of Fig. 1 also showing the'adjustable abutment.

Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown a guide for hand duplicators comprising, in general, a bed or plate for supporting a pile of paper, a plurality of paper guides or abutments, and a plurality of guides or abutments for a set of hand duplicators, especially oscillating duplicators.

The bed or plate In is preferably of metal and provides a smooth, -flat surface for supporting a pile of paper and also for the adjustment of a number' of guides and abutments to be described. This plate or bed is'supported by a plurality of legs I I, which in this instance are metallic tubes secured to the bottom of the plate, as by screws. Whatever formof legs are used, they will hold the plate elevated above a table or other support, and absolute stability will be assured. The plate ID has the upper left-hand corner cut ofi as at l2, so as to facilitate the removal of the pile of paper or of a single sheet of paper after an impression 'has'been'made. It will be understood-that the paper rests directly on the bed .lll with its upper left hand corner projecting over the cut-out portion I2 and with one edge adjacent to the upper edge w of the plate and another edge adjacent to or parallel with the plate edge l To provide an abutment for one of the long edges of the paper, a flat, vertical plate I3 is carried adjacent the upper edge l The plate I3 has end flanges l4 and a straight guide rod I5 is carried by said end flanges parallel to edge l0. On the rod I5 is an adjustable abutment comprising a cylindrical slide [6 which snugly embraces the rod l5 andencloses a spring ll providing sufficient frictional resistance to prevent movement of the slide l6 except when deliberately moved manually by means of the knob l8 (Figs. 1 and 3). The cooperating surface of rod l5 may be flattened for contact with spring ll, as is clearly shown.

Surrounding and attached to the'slide I6 is a piece of spring metal l9 which is bent to pass under the plate l3 and up through the space be- .tween the plate l3 andthe edge Ill and is then upwardly and downwardly bent, as shown in Fig. 3, to provide an extension 2|] whose lower end is in a contact with the upper surfaces of plate Hi. The extension 20 provides an adjustable end abut- .ment for any paper which is placed upon the plate l0, adjustment being effected by grasping the handle l8 and pushing the slide back and forth on rod l5. To facilitate adjustment, the upper surface of plate l3 may have a scale 2| marked thereon, preferably reading in inches and half inches; and the lefthand edge of the extension ,20 is initially alined with one of the marks 1 on the scale, as shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 3, the abutment provided by plate 13 normally projects above the top surface of the-plate) and is of sufficient height to hold thepaper against displacement while the device 2 is in use. However, as the device is especially designed for use with an oscillating hand duplicator, which is rocked transversely'across the paper until one edge may contact with the plate 13, it is important to permit said plate and the 545 over the surface of the top sheet of the pile of paper.

While various expedients may be resorted to, to permit said assembly to be depressible, I prefer the very simple arrangement of flat springs 22 each fixed at one end to the under side of the plate III, as indicated at 22 and being attached at their free ends to the under side of the plate l3. The strength of the springs 22 is such that normally the above-mentioned assembly is maintained in the position of Fig. 5, but said assembly is easily pushed down without any noticeable resistance by contact with the hand duplicator. As the assembly is depressed, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the spring metal arm or extension 23 flexes until finally it lies flat on the top surface of plate I6. 7

slidably mounted upon the plate I0 is an adjustable carrier comprising a pair of clamping members 25 and 26 and a rod 2'! connecting said clamping members. The rod 21 is pinned or otherwise secured at one end to the clamping member 25 and passes through the clamping member 26, which is slidable on the end of rod 27, and has a screw-threaded end with which a knurled nut 28 engages. The clamping members 25 and 26 have edge-to-edge engagement with the longitudinal edges N and HI respectively of the plate ill (see Fig. 2); and, as shown, the clamping members have flanges 29 directly engaging the underside of the plate. Thus when the nut 28 is tightened, the two clamping members are pressed tightly against the opposite edges of the plate so that movement of the carrier is impossible.

The carrier is designed to support a paper abutment or guide and a plurality of guides or abutments for several sizes of hand duplicators, as will now be described. The paper guide or abutment, as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, comprises a flexible sheet metal plate 36 which is slidably carried within a housing 3! which in turn is .slidable on the rod 21 and has its lower edges engaging the top surface of plate I0 so as to have no other movement except adjustment back and forth on rod 21. The plate 36 has a button 32 facilitating movement of the same through the housing SI and a pin 33 in connection with the lower edge 34 of the housing provides means for restraining and holding the plate by friction so that relative movement is impossible unless the operator deliberately makes an adjustment. The forward end of the plate 30 is widened so that in plan the shape of the plate is like the letter T and said widened end 30* has a slit 35 so as to provide an upwardly bowed depressible abutment 36; that edge of said abutment which is opposed to and nearest the abutment I3 is designed to contact with any paper placed upon the plate for making copies. Theabutment 36 is bowed for resilience, so as to be depressed if the hand duplicator engages it, and also to increase its capacity for guiding a pile paper. Obviously, the higher the arch of abutment 36 above the plate It), the higher the pile of paper which may be stacked on the device. The flexibility of the plate 30 is such that it may be pushed back and forth through the housing 3| without excessive resistance, and when so pushed, it will flex to pass under the edge 34 and lie'flat on the upper surface of plate it).

To provide corner abutments for an oscillatory duplicator (whose position just prior to making an impression is shown in dot and dash lines), a pcir of abutment members are slidably mounted on rod 21, there being one abutment member for either corner of the duplicator. The two abutment members are exactly alike except that one is made for the right end of a duplicator and the other is formed to co-operate with the left end; hence the description of one will suffice for both. Each abutment member comprises a cylindrical body portion 49 which is slidable upon the rod 27 and may be secured thereto by a set screw 4|. Integral with the cylindrical body 46 is a flat extension 42 having a notch 43 formed in its upper surface and an angular face 44 rising above the notch 43. See Figs. 3 and 4. The bottom side of the extension 42 lies flat on the top surface of plate It so that it is readily slidable over the plate. Standing at right angles to the extension 42, and also at right angles to the axis of rod 21, is a vertical flange 45 whose inner surface is adapted to contact with one end of the hand duplicator, as will be understood. For clearness, the dot-and-dash lines indicating the duplicator are shown spaced from the wall 45 in Fig. 1; this is the position of the parts before the final adjustment of the abutments, which will bring the inner surfaces of both flanges 45 up against the end walls of the duplicator. The lower edge of the duplicator initially rests on the extension 42 and in the notches 43. From this initial position the duplicator is rocked toward the abutment 13, thus making an impression on the topmost sheet of paper. Each impression will thus be precisely centered relative to each sheet.

When the abutments are to be adapted for smaller sizes of duplicators, because of the differences in construction of such smaller sizes, the described abutments cannot be satisfactorily used and hence each of the abutment members has, an arcuate member 46 which may be oscillatedfrom the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position of Fig. 4, a roughened surface (Fig. 2) facilitating such movement. When the arcuate members 46 are thrown forwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, in effect they decrease the length of the abutment members and thus adapt them for use with smaller sizes of duplicators.

It will be clear from Fig. 3 that the top surface of a hand duplicator normally engages with the rounded body portions .40 of the abutment members. When the same abutment members are adapted to a smaller size of duplicator,.the arc-- uate members 46, being thrown forwardly, engage with the top surface of the smaller size of duplicator and thus position it properly before an impression is made. Of course, it will be understood that for smaller sized duplicators,

both abutment members are moved closertogether on the rod 21, which, in practice, is appropriately marked so as to indicate the exact positions which the abutment members should have when duplicators of the different sizes are being employed.

The described abutment members for engagement with the corners of the hand duplicators may be used whenever the paper on which the impressions are made is of a proper size for the duplicators. However, if a small size duplicator is employed with a large sheet, the described abutment members would be of no value because the duplicator could not be guided and yet make impressions in the center of the oversize sheet. To obviate this difficulty, each of the abutment members carries an extension arm 41 which is slidable therethrough at right angles to the rod 2'! and extends parallel to the edges Ill Ill.

Set screws 48 make it possible to secure the ex-'- tension'arms 41 in adjusted positions, and the upper edges of said extension arms may be gradiiatedv asshown in Fig. 1 so as to insure proper adjustment of each arm. At the forward ends,

thearms 47 are enlarged asat 49 and the enlargements have vertical surfaces 50 and 5| for engagement with the corners of a hand duplicator, The surfaces 5! are divergent so as to center the duplicator, whose side edge is supposed to contact with the surfaces 523. It will be obvioils that by adjusting the two abutment members 40 toward the center of the plate and by extending the enlarged ends @9 of the extension arms 47 toward the center .of a sheet of paper supported upon the plate It, a small size duplicator may be accurately positioned relative to the paper. The paper itself may also be accurately positioned irrespective of the size of the sheet because of the indicia on plate 53, and the indicia 52 marked on the righthand edge of plate It.

The described duplicator guide while particularly designed for use with hand-operated duplicators' of the type heretofore identified, may be used with duplicators of many different constructions, and will enable the user to aline and center thestenciled matter with the edges of each sheet of paper, thus assuring work of perfect appearance.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a flat plate for supporting sheets of paper; means carried on the plate to engage with two or more edges of a pile of paper sheets; a carrier extending across the plate and adjustable along the same; means to clamp the carrier to the plate; a pair of angular members mounted on said carrier and each providing end and side abutments for one of the corners of a rocking hand duplicator; and means to hold said angular members in individually adjusted positions on the carrier.

2. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a flat plate for supporting sheets of paper; means carried on the plate to engage with three edges of a pile of paper sheets; a carrier extending across the plate and. adjustable along the same; means to clamp the carrier to the plate; a pair of members slidably mounted on said carrier; means to hold said slidable members in adjusted positions on the carrier; and angular members adjustably mounted on the slidable members and adapted to be moved at right angles to the line of adjustment of the slidable members, said angular members being spaced above and parallel to the upper surface of the paper-supporting plate.

3. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a fiat plate; a carrier clamped upon two opposite edges of said plate and movable over the upper surface of the plate in either direction; a pair of members adjustably mounted on the carrier; and a pair of duplicatorguiding members, one on each of the said adjustable members, individually adjustable in the same directions in which the carrier is adjustable.

4. A device of the character described, com- 3 prising, in combination, a fiat generally rectangu} lar plate; a carrier clamped upon two opposite edges of said plate and movable over the upper surface of theplate in eitherdirection; a pair of members adjustably mounted on the carrier;

said means automatically restoring the guide to its normal position. V 5. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a flat rectangular plate;

a carrier clamped upon two opposite edges of said plate and movable overthe upper surface of the plate in either direction; a pair of members adjustably mounted on the carrier; a pair of duplicator-guiding members, one on each of the said adjustable members, individually adjustable in the same directions in which the carrier is adjustable; a paper guide lying adjacent to and normally projecting above one of the edges of the plate which is parallel to the carrier; and a paper abutment adjustably carried on the paper guide.

6. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate; a carrier clamped to opposite edges of the plate and lying above the plate; a pair of angular abutment members adjustable longitudinally of the carrier; 2, paper guide adjustable longitudinally of the carrier and lying between the two angular abutment members; said paper guide also being adjustable laterally of the carrier to engage the edges of paper sheets piled on said plate.

7. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate; a carrier clamped to opposite edges of the plate and lying above the plate; a pair of angular abutment members adjustable longitudinally of the carrier; a paper guide adjustable longitudinally of the carrier and lying between the two angular abutment members; said paper guide also being adjustable laterally of the carrier to engage the edges of paper sheets piled on said plate; said paper guide having a paper-engaging member comprising a flat resilient sheet which lies partly on the top surface of the plate and which has a slit in it extending parallel to the edge of the paper, that part of the plate beyond said slit being upwardly bowed in the middle and touching the plate at its ends, and thus being depressible.

8. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate; a carrier clamped to opposite edges of the plate and lying above the plate; a pair of angular abutment members adjustable longitudinally of the carrier; a paper guide adjustable longitudinally of the carrier and lying between the two angular abutment members; said paper guide also being adjustable laterally of the carrier to engage the edges of paper sheets piled on said plate; said paper guide extending above the surface of the plate and being depressible until it lies flat against the plate; another paper guide located at one of the edges of the plate which is parallel to the carrier; and means so mounting the second paper guide that it is depressible to the level of the plate surface when pressed upon.

9. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a fiat plate for supporting sheets of paper; legs on the underside of the plate to elevate the plate above the surface on which it is supported; a paper-guide or abutment extending longitudinally along one edge of the plate but unattached thereto; flat springs attached to the underside of the plate and to the abutment and holding the abutment normally projecting above the adjacentedge of the plate but yielding to downward pressure on the abutment; and adjustable means mounted on said plate providing a paper guide or abutment for the opposite edges of the sheets of paper.

10. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a fiat plate for supporting sheets of paper; legs on the underside of the plate to elevate the plate above the surface on which it is supporting; a paper-guide or abutment extending longitudinally along one edge of the plate but unattached thereto; flat springs attached to the underside of the plate and to the abutment and holding the abutment normally projecting above the adjacent edge of the plate but yielding to downward pressure on the abutment; adjustable means mounted on said plate providing a paper guide or abutment for the opposite edges of the sheets of paper; spaced angular means adapted to engage with two corners of a rocking hand duplicator; and means to hold said spaced angular means immovable on the plate, said holding means being constructed and arranged to permit adjustment of the spaced angular means.

11. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a flat plate; three paper guides mounted on the plate and extending above the upper face thereof to contact with three of the edges of a pile of paper sheets resting on said plate; all three of said guides being depressible to substantially the level of the top surface of the plate so as to move out of the way of an oscillating hand duplicator; two of said guides being opposed to each other to contact with opposite edges of the pile of sheets, and one of the two opposed guides being adjustable toward and from the other.

12. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate having a flat top surface; a carrier adjustable longitudinally of said plate; a pair of duplicator abutments adjustable longitudinally on the carrier; and means on each abutment to decrease one of the dimensions thereof on the side against which the edge of the duplicator is thrust prior to making an impression.

13. A device of the character described comprising, in combination, a plate; a carrier adjustable over the plate; a paper guide adjustable on the carrier and comprising a housing slidable on the carrier; a flexible flat plate slidable through the housing and resiliently held thereby; and a flexible bowed abutment member on the end of said plate.

PORTER H. MASON. 

